mango&lime — a blog about food and eating in miami

Many people have a dish associated with them. One they make really well. There’s grandma’s torta de menudo, mom’s arroz con coco … Well, it seems like Paula’s guacamole is gaining some traction. The invitation to two friends’ birthday barbecue last weekend went something like this: “We’re finally having the barbecue this weekend, but you have to make your guacamole.”

Guacamole dates back to the Aztecs, who called it ahuaca-mulli, which translates to avocado sauce. I’ve seen and tried many recipes to make it. Mine is not very precise; it’s the result of trial and error and a little bit of bad luck.

Let me explain.

A few years ago, my best friend invited me to her brother’s birthday barbecue. I volunteered to make guacamole, but did a poor job buying the avocados. When I got to their house and started cutting — or attempting to cut — them, I discovered they were pretty green. A little worried, I presented the dish as avocado salad. Because the avocados were so green, I diced them instead of mashing them. In about fifteen minutes, no joke, the whole bowl was gone. The guests happily put the “avocado salad” over their chips and ate away, and I ended up liking the idea of chunky guacamole.

After a few more tries at home and for parties, I think I finally have a formula that I like and, perhaps more importantly, that people enjoy eating. Click below for the recipe. Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Paula’s Guacamole
(Note: The measurements in this recipe are not very precise. I’m using the rough amounts I used for last week’s party. But use this as a guide for the proportions and make it to your taste.)

• 4-5 Haas avocados, diced. (See, how to cut an avocado).
• 2 small tomatoes, diced
• 3-4 green onions, white part only, finely chopped
• 1/2 a small jalapeño pepper, finely diced, to taste
• The juice of 1 lime
• Cilantro*, to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

Mix the tomatos, jalapeño and green onions in a bowl. Add the avocados** and mix gently. Instead of mashing them, I take a small knife and cut across the chunks of avocado (tip learned from the Barefoot Contessa). This breaks down the cubes a little but doesn’t make them into mush. Add lime juice, salt and pepper to taste and cilantro. Mix ingredients gently and serve.

Cook’s Notes

* I never measure the cilantro. I just add it to the guacamole at the very end, tear the leaves with my hands and taste it until it’s to my liking. I would say I used the leaves of about 8 stems of cilantro.

**If you’re not serving the guacamole immediately, cut and add the guacamole to the other ingredients right before serving. If you must make the guacamole in advance, cover it with plastic wrap, but place the wrap directly on it. Contact with oxygen is one factor that makes avocados blacken.

tags: guacamole, cinco de mayo, avocado, aztecs